India (258-5) beat England (257-7) by five wickets

India clinched the one-day series against England with a game to spare as Steven Finn was denied a crucial wicket for breaking the stumps in his delivery stride.

Finn's habit of colliding with the stumps has caused much debate among the game's law-makers but it had a very practical consequence in the fourth ODI, with umpire Steve Davis calling dead ball when Suresh Raina was held at slip with India 178 for four.

At that point India were still 80 short of victory but Raina, 41 at the time, finished unbeaten on 89 to seal a five-wicket win in the 48th over.

It was not the first time Finn has paid for the problem, Davis also officiating when South Africa's Graeme Smith was reprieved in similar circumstances last summer.

The incident overshadowed what was a fine contest, with Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen each scoring 76 and Joe Root (57 not out) adding a stylish maiden ODI half-century.

India's response included a gutsy 83 from Rohit Sharma, recalled after a year in the cold, before Raina's dramatic innings.

England needed early to make inroads quickly and Tim Bresnan obliged in the sixth over, finding Gautam Gambhir's outside edge and providing England's new wicketkeeper Jos Buttler with a simple catch.

Buttler, called up in place of Craig Kieswetter, did not have to wait long for a sterner test though - hesitating under a top edge from Virat Kohli that eventually landed between him and Bresnan.

By then Pietersen had also dropped Sharma on 12, a tough - but vitally important - one-handed chance at mid-off.

Jade Dernbach, retained despite a poor series to date, shipped 17 runs in his first two overs as Sharma settled into a groove.

But James Tredwell continued his superb series by accounting for the dangerous duo of Kohli (26) and Yuvraj Singh (three) in a nagging four-over spell that put England back in the game.

Sharma was the key, reaching 50 in 73 balls and then cutting loose, taking India past 100 with a straight six off Tredwell and sweeping the next ball for four.

Sharma's boundary count reached double figures when he cracked Tredwell past point and Raina was offering lively support, laying into the wayward Dernbach as he raced to 30. Sharma's innings was ended by a dubious lbw decision in favour of Finn, who claimed England's fourth success at a good time.

It was now or never for England.

Finn thought he had seized the moment when Raina nicked to Cook at slip on 41 but celebrations were cut short as Davis signalled dead ball. Finn's costly habit had returned at the worst possible moment and the bowling side visibly wilted.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni came and went for 19, Dernbach finally getting lucky, leaving 45 to get in 65 balls.

Raina played the role of finisher with aplomb, adding four additional fours and a six off Bresnan. Ravindra Jadeja joined him for the closing overs, finishing 21no and hitting the winning runs.

India had started the day by winning the toss for the third time in succession and inserting England in helpful conditions.

Ball beat bat on a handful of occasions but while Cook was able to dig in and fight the England corner, Ian Bell lost patience and fell for 10 aiming a wayward mow at Ishant Sharma.

Pietersen also faced a rocky start, surviving a close lbw appeal when Ishant tested him with a yorker.

He took 13 balls to get off the mark and needed 20 more to find the boundary.

Cook was releasing the pressure with the regular fours and reached his 50 in 74 deliveries.

Pietersen was slowly getting going too and it needed a risible lbw verdict from Sudhir Asnani to change the game, Ravichandran Ashwin the lucky bowler as Cook was lbw to a ball that pitched well outside leg.

A platform of 132 for two was wasted as Eoin Morgan and Samit Patel fell for a combined four runs, each to dreadful strokes, and India kept England to just 19 in the batting powerplay.

Root got lucky when he was dropped on nought by Kohli but cashed in, rarely dipping below a run-a-ball and showcasing a variety of boundary options.

His eight fours included covers drives, sweeps and a couple of improvised paddle shots, and there was also a swept six off Ashwin.

Pietersen, having worked hard for an unflashy 50, also unleashed a series of boundaries - and one towering six - before Ishant claimed his middle stump.

Root was dropped a second time by Raina and finished unbeaten on 57 in 45 balls, while Buttler managed one booming six in a cameo worth 14 in nine balls.